Sometimes an album cover could be worth a thousand words. And the Grammys finally agree.<\/p>\n
The 2026 ceremony will be the first time in 53 years that the award for best album cover will be presented. Previously, the award for a recording package included the album\u2019s visuals and physical materials. Last year, Charli XCX earned the accolade for the virality of \u201cbrat\u201d and its distinct mucus-y green. <\/p>\n
However, this year, the categories for boxed\/special limited-edition packages will be combined into a single recording package category, with album covers receiving their own trophy. <\/p>\n
This category isn\u2019t exactly new. At the first Grammys in 1959, Frank Sinatra\u2019s \u201cOnly the Lonely\u201d received the award for album cover. It was presented every year until 1973, when the Siegel-Schwall Band won for its self-titled album. After that, the category was renamed album package and then changed again in 1994 to recording package.<\/p>\n
The nominated albums for art cover include Tyler the Creator\u2019s<\/a> \u201cChromakopia,\u201d Djo\u2019s \u201cThe Crux,\u201d Bad Bunny\u2019s \u201cDeb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos,\u201d Perfume Genius\u2019 \u201cGlory\u201d and Wet Leg\u2019s \u201cMoisturizer.\u201d From the nostalgic white plastic chairs that grace Bad Bunny\u2019s sixth studio album to Tyler the Creator\u2019s masked longing gaze on his cover, an album\u2019s artwork is often essential to the listening experience.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a cover in a campaign hits right,\u201d said nominated photographer Neil Krug to the Associated Press,<\/a> \u201cit\u2019s part of the language and the fabric of what makes a great record a great record.\u201d<\/p>\n Krug has a history of photographing covers for artists like Lana Del Rey and Tame Impala. He\u2019s nominated for shooting the cover of \u201cThe Crux, \u201d by Joe Keery (\u201cStranger Things\u201d), who goes by the musical moniker Djo. The image includes a chaotic menagerie of an old hotel and a crowded street, including everything from Djo himself hanging from a window, a kissing couple and a parking ticket dispute.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything that we could come up with, we were just like throwing it at the canvas,\u201d Krug told the Associated Press.<\/a><\/p>\n This split of categories is meant to better recognize music in the digital age. Grammy rules state that albums do not need to exist physically to be considered for this category, unlike in the recording package category. (Though this year every album nominated for the award is available on vinyl and CD).<\/p>\n